Lovable PromptsLovable Prompts
    Vendor pages re-read 3 measured Lovable runsCursor priced from its own pages, not run

    Lovable vs Cursor: one builds the app, one edits the code

    These two do different jobs. Cursor is an editor with an agent: it works on a repository you already have and ships no database, no auth and no app hosting. Lovable builds the app from a prompt with a backend included and cannot open a repository that exists. Two facts decide most readers before price does. The prices moved anyway: on 23 October 2026 Cursor's own page sells it inside The X Subscription, from $8 a month for Grok models only.

    Which one for you

    Four questions, one answer

    Does your app already exist as a codebase?
    Do you need the tool to give you a database, logins and hosting?
    Which models do you want to work with?
    How many people will build?

    Your answer

    Either, on these answers

    Nothing you answered separates them. Read the meter section: that is where the bills diverge.

    Browse the measured prompts →

    Scored from the facts in the table below, one row per question. Lovable gets no bonus points.

    What you pay for

    Credits for work done, against a weekly usage pool by model

    Both vendors sell an allowance. Lovable spends it per message on the work completed; Cursor's new plans spend a weekly pool that depends on which model answers. In their own words, read on 23 October 2026.

    Lovable: credits per message, a flat planning price

    • Build mode is billed on the complexity of the request and the work completed; more codebase exploration, browser checks or generated images cost more. Lovable credits docs
    • Plan mode is a flat 1 credit a message plus any research it runs, and never changes code. A request stopped before any change is not charged.
    • Free: 5 build credits a day, up to 30 a month, plus 20 Cloud, 4 AI and 1 connector credit a month. Pro: €25 a month for 100 credits, ladder to 10,000, read 22 October 2026.
    • Lovable's illustrative examples run from 0.50 credits for a button colour to 2.00 for a landing page with images; our measured runs cost 1.8, 9.5 and 10.4.

    Cursor: a weekly pool, Grok included, other models billed on top

    • Free $0 with limited usage; Plus $8 a month with Grok models only; Premium $30 with 4 times the Plus usage, the latest Grok models and third-party models at API list price; Super $100 (15x); Ultra $200 (50x). Read 23 October 2026. cursor.com/pricing
    • Each paid plan includes one pool of usage for Cursor models, shared across Grok and Cursor; third-party models are not in it. The allowance refreshes weekly, so one heavy day never wipes out the month; top-offs and spending caps cover the rest. Cursor pricing docs
    • Hobby, Pro, Pro+, Ultra and the old Teams Standard and Premium seats are listed as legacy plans with two usage pools and on-demand usage. The page prints no dollar amount of included usage for any current plan.
    • The page sells Cursor as part of The X Subscription and names X Subscription Corp; third-party coverage dates the switch to 12 October 2026. On the record before that: the June 2025 Pro repricing, after which users hit limits within a few prompts and the CEO apologised and offered refunds. TechCrunch, 7 July 2025
    How many builds one month buys on Lovable, from the 3 measured runs

    Free plan (30 build credits a month) in rose, Pro 100 in lime. Each bar divides the plan by the credits that run cost.

    Landing page + email opt-in1.8 credits1655Empty states and skeletons9.5 credits310SaaS MVP with user auth10.4 credits29
    Builds per month on Lovable, per measured run
    RunCreditsFree plan, 30 creditsPro 100
    Landing page + email opt-in1.81655
    Empty states and skeletons9.5310
    SaaS MVP with user auth10.429

    Lovable only. Credits per run read from the workspace credits page before and after, in our own workspace (31 July and 26 September 2026); plan sizes from lovable.dev/pricing on 22 October 2026. Cursor prints its allowances as multiples of Plus, not in units a build could be measured in, so no bar.

    Side by side

    Lovable and Cursor, row by row

    Lovable and Cursor compared on what each is, the meter, free plan, entry price, rollover, team cost, GitHub, other exits, backend, hosting, zero balance and public record, with the date each Cursor cell was read
    LovableCursorReadSource
    What it isPrompt-to-app builder with a built-in backend (Lovable Cloud, on Supabase's foundation)AI code editor with an agent, working on a repository on your machine; cloud agents and code hosting via Origin from Premium23 October 2026cursor.com/pricing
    You pay byCredits per message. Build mode is billed on the work completed; Plan mode is a flat 1 creditA weekly usage pool for Cursor and Grok models, sized as a multiple of Plus; third-party models billed separately at API list price23 October 2026Cursor pricing docs
    Free plan5 build credits a day, up to 30 a month, plus 20 Cloud, 4 AI and 1 connector credit a month. No cardFree $0 with limited agent and chat requests23 October 2026cursor.com/pricing
    Entry paid planPro €25 a month for 100 credits (€21 billed annually); ladder to 10,000 credits at €2,250Plus $8 a month, Grok models only; Premium $30 for third-party models, cloud agents and code reviews23 October 2026cursor.com/pricing
    RolloverUnused monthly plan credits roll over, expiring 2 months after issue on monthly plansThe allowance refreshes weekly; the page prints no rollover23 October 2026cursor.com/pricing
    A second builder costsNothing: unlimited collaborators on every plan, including Free; per-member credit limits on ProTeams seats at $30, $100 or $200 per user a month, mixable on one team; Plus is not available to teams23 October 2026Cursor pricing docs
    GitHubTwo-way sync, one branch at a time. Git sync always creates a new repository: it cannot connect to one that existsNot a feature: the code is a local repository, every branch and remote you already have23 October 2026cursor.com/pricing
    Other ways outClone the synced repository and work locally. Files over 10 MB cannot be saved by LovableNothing to leave: no proprietary project format23 October 2026Cursor pricing docs
    Database and authLovable Cloud: database, auth, storage, edge functions and realtime, on every planNone. The pricing page prints nothing about databases, authentication or app deployment; you bring the stack23 October 2026cursor.com/pricing
    HostingFree: 5 lovable.app domains, invite-only publishing. Custom domains from ProNone for the app. Code hosting via Origin is listed from Premium23 October 2026cursor.com/pricing
    At zero balanceBuilding stops, AI features in deployed apps stop, apps on Cloud pause. A published static site stays upAdd a top-off or wait for the weekly refresh; your app is never gated, only the editor's AI23 October 2026cursor.com/pricing
    On the recordCVE-2025-48757 (row-level security in generated projects) and an April 2026 API flaw, patched for new projects, not remediated for projects created before November 2025June 2025 Pro repricing: users hit limits within a few prompts, the CEO apologised and offered refunds; October 2026: plans replaced by X Subscription tiers23 October 2026TechCrunch, 7 July 2025

    Cursor cells read on the date in the Read column from cursor.com/pricing and its pricing docs, which on that day carried X and Grok branding and named X Subscription Corp; Lovable prices from lovable.dev/pricing on 22 October 2026, Lovable docs on 23 October 2026. Lovable is shown in euros as displayed to EU visitors.

    The paid ladders

    What the next tier buys on each

    Paid plan tiers on Lovable and Cursor with price, allowance and the source note
    ToolPlanPriceBuysNote
    LovablePro 100€25 a month100 creditsPricing page read 22 October 2026; €0.25 a credit to 800 credits
    LovablePro 1,200€294 a month1,200 creditsFirst discount step, 2%
    LovablePro 10,000€2,250 a month10,000 creditsTop of the ladder, 10% off
    CursorPlus$8 a monthBase usage pool, Grok models onlyPricing page read 23 October 2026; not available to teams
    CursorPremium$30 a month4x Plus; third-party models at API list price; cloud agents, code hosting, AI code reviewsPricing page read 23 October 2026
    CursorSuper$100 a month15x Plus; priority model access at peak timesPricing page read 23 October 2026
    CursorUltra$200 a month50x Plus; earliest access to products and modelsPricing page read 23 October 2026
    CursorTeams$30, $100 or $200 per seatThe seat's tier, mixable on one teamPricing docs read 23 October 2026

    Lovable's ladder is the Pro card's dropdown as printed on 22 October 2026. Cursor's tiers are cursor.com/pricing on 23 October 2026; the page prints usage as multiples of Plus and no dollar allowance, and lists Hobby, Pro at $20, Pro+ and the old Ultra as legacy plans for existing subscribers. The two do not convert: a Lovable credit is a unit of work done, a Cursor pool is model time.

    What you keep

    Cursor has nothing to export. Lovable has nothing to import

    Read on 23 October 2026. The exit question runs one way on this page: Lovable's repository can go to Cursor, and nothing can come back.

    Lovable: two-way sync, one branch, no import

    • Changes made in Lovable sync to GitHub, and changes pushed to the active branch sync back. Lovable only edits and syncs one branch at a time. Lovable GitHub docs
    • Git sync always creates a new repository. Connecting a project to a repository that already exists is listed as unsupported, and reconnecting after a disconnect creates another new repository.
    • Lovable cannot save files larger than 10 MB. Everything else clones and runs locally, which is where Cursor takes over.

    Cursor: the code was always yours

    • There is no project format and no sync: Cursor opens a folder, and the repository, its branches and its remotes are whatever you already use. cursor.com/pricing
    • Review workflows that need more than one branch, protected branches or pull requests run in your own Git; Lovable's single active branch does not.
    • What Cursor leaves to you is everything Lovable Cloud does: the database, authentication, storage, functions and a host. Its pricing page lists code hosting via Origin from Premium, and nothing about running the app.

    When to choose Cursor and when to choose Lovable

    Cursor

    Choose Cursor if

    • Your app already exists: Cursor opens it, Lovable cannot
    • You run your own stack and want nothing hosted by the builder
    • You need several branches, protected branches or pull-request review
    • Grok is enough: Plus is $8 a month on 23 October 2026; Claude and GPT start at Premium, billed on top
    • You want the editor to stay useful after the first version, when editing beats regenerating

    Lovable

    Choose Lovable if

    • You have no codebase and no backend: Lovable Cloud ships both on the Free plan
    • You never want to open the code: chat, preview, publish, with Plan mode at a flat 1 credit
    • Two or more people build: unlimited collaborators on every plan, where Cursor seats are $30 to $200 each on 23 October 2026
    • You want to know what a prompt costs before you pay: Lovable prints 0.50 to 2.00 credit examples and we measured 1.8 to 10.4
    • You want the app hosted and published from the same tool that built it

    The public record is the row no vendor page prints. Lovable carries CVE-2025-48757, insufficient row-level security in generated projects, and an authorisation flaw in its own API disclosed in April 2026 that let a free account read another user's source and database credentials; reporting says it was patched for new projects and not remediated for projects created before November 2025. Cursor's record is pricing: the June 2025 repricing that drew an apology and refunds, and the October 2026 move to X Subscription tiers. Reporting by The Next Web, SC Media, TechCrunch. The security guide has the scans we ran on our own project.

    Lovable workspace credits panel after the empty states and skeletons run on 26 September 2026, showing the balance the 9.5-credit build left
    The credits panel after the empty states and skeletons run, 26 September 2026, our own workspace: 9.5 credits, read before and after.

    That panel is the only build evidence on this page, and it is Lovable's. The cheapest of the 3 runs, landing page + email opt-in, cost 1.8 credits of the 5 a free account gets each day; the prompt page has the builder and the screenshots, and the pricing guide turns every run into builds per plan. Cursor has no equivalent row here because we did not run it.

    The right column describes you?

    Start on the Free plan: 5 build credits a day, no card. Our cheapest measured build, landing page + email opt-in, cost 1.8 credits in one round.

    Disclosure: if you create a Lovable account through links on this page, we may earn a commission. It costs you nothing and does not change what we recommend.Start free on Lovable

    How we compared, and what we did not publish

    • Prices and rules from each vendor's own pricing page and documentation, read on 23 October 2026 for Cursor and the Lovable docs, 22 October 2026 for Lovable's prices; every table row carries its read date and source.
    • Cursor's page carried X and Grok branding on the read date and named X Subscription Corp; we quote what it printed and cite a third-party report for the switch date.
    • Credit figures only from runs in our own Lovable workspace, read from the credits page before and after.
    • Incidents only when reported by named publications, with dates.

    Not published

    • The same prompt run in Cursor. We hold no paid Cursor account, and an editor with no app to edit would not make a fair test.
    • Cursor's included usage in dollars: the page prints multiples of Plus only.
    • Legacy plan prices (Hobby, Pro, Pro+, old Ultra, Teams Standard and Premium) beyond the names the docs still list.
    • Whether an existing Pro subscriber keeps the two-pool model: the docs say legacy plans exist and nothing about migration dates.

    What changed since July

    1. 23 Oct 2026Cursor's pricing page and docs re-read: Free, Plus $8 (Grok only), Premium $30, Super $100, Ultra $200, Teams per seat, sold as The X Subscription; Hobby, Pro, Pro+ and the old seats listed as legacy. The $20 Pro figures this page carried since July are withdrawn.
    2. 23 Oct 2026Lovable's docs re-read for the meter and the GitHub rules.
    3. 26 Sep 2026Prices re-read; Cursor had added a Teams Premium tier and stopped printing per-plan allowances. Hero added.
    4. 30 Jul 2026First published, with every price read on the vendor pages that day.

    Frequently asked

    Is Cursor better than Lovable?

    They do different jobs, so one fact each settles it. Cursor's pricing page on 23 October 2026 prints nothing about databases, authentication or app deployment: with no codebase, it is an editor with nothing to edit. Lovable's GitHub docs say Git sync always creates a new repository and cannot connect to one that exists: with an app that already exists, Lovable cannot open it.

    How much does Cursor cost now?

    On 23 October 2026 cursor.com/pricing listed Free at $0, Plus at $8 a month with Grok models only, Premium at $30 with 4 times the Plus usage and third-party models billed separately at API list price, Super at $100 (15x) and Ultra at $200 (50x), with Teams at $30, $100 or $200 per seat and Plus not available to teams. Allowances refresh weekly. The pricing docs call Hobby, Pro, Pro+ and the old Teams seats legacy plans. Lovable Pro is €25 a month for 100 credits, read 22 October 2026.

    Which is cheaper?

    Different shapes. For one developer who already runs a stack, Cursor from $8 a month on Grok, or $30 with Claude and GPT billed on top, is cheaper than paying Lovable for a backend you would run yourself. For a team, Lovable's unlimited collaborators on every plan beat seats at $30 to $200 each. Both read on 23 October 2026; Cursor's page prints usage as multiples of Plus, not in dollars.

    Can I use both together?

    Yes, and it is the common sensible sequence. Build the first version in Lovable, take the repository out through its two-way GitHub sync, then work in Cursor once the app is large enough that editing beats regenerating. Lovable cannot take the repository back, so the move is one way.

    Does Cursor work with Supabase?

    It works with anything, because it is an editor: you set Supabase up yourself and Cursor edits the code that talks to it. Lovable Cloud provisions the database, authentication, storage and functions for you on every plan, including Free. Whether that is an advantage depends on whether you wanted to make those decisions.

    Which one did you run?

    Lovable, three times, with the credits panel read before and after: 1.8, 9.5 and 10.4 credits. We did not run Cursor and nothing here ranks its output. Its side of this page is its pricing page and pricing docs, each dated, and the TechCrunch report on its July 2025 repricing.

    Sources, with the date each was read

    The other head-to-head pages

    Lovable alternatives →Lovable vs Bolt →Lovable vs Replit →Lovable vs v0 →Best AI app builder →Lovable pricing →

    Written by

    Marco Kohns

    Marco Kohns

    Founder of ProtoBites - Venture Growth Studio

    Growth PM at a Silicon Valley scale-up (a16z and General Catalyst backed), ex-Techstars where he consulted 13 early-stage startups, Reforge-trained. Every prompt on this site comes out of shipping ProtoBites' own portfolio products.

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